Does Removing Tub Hardware for Custom Plating Void the Ella Warranty?

Plating or refinishing the hardware on your Ella walk-in tub is a modification, and the published Lifetime Limited Warranty excludes products modified by anyone other than Ella's Bubbles, so confirm how it affects coverage on your specific tub with the team at (800) 480-6850 before the first part comes off. The mechanics of taking the pieces off are covered in Removing Grab Bars, the Door Handle and Controls for Custom Plating or Refinishing. This page answers the coverage question on its own: what the published terms say about modified parts, which nearby changes leave coverage exactly as it was, and how to refit plated hardware without creating a second warranty problem while you are at it.

What the Published Warranty Says About Modified Parts

The Lifetime Limited Warranty is extended to the first purchaser only, it is nontransferable, and it is tied to the original installation address. Among its exclusions is any product that has been modified or repaired by anyone other than Ella's Bubbles. That exclusion is aimed at cutting or altering the shell, frame or equipment, and it is the clause that plating falls under, because a plated handle or grab bar has been changed by an outside shop. Ella does not plate or refinish parts and cannot advise on the plating process, so the finish itself becomes the plating shop's responsibility rather than Ella's.

What the published terms do not do is spell out a plating-specific rule. That is why the support team's guidance is to ask before you start rather than assume either way. Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your model, your serial number and the list of parts you intend to plate, and keep the written reply with your warranty records. General exclusions still apply to the rest of the tub whatever you decide: negligence, abuse, misuse, improper installation, alteration or modification, and improper maintenance. Labor, plumbing and electrical connections are never covered, and the warranty is parts only, with Ella shipping the part and a local licensed plumber or electrician doing the work.

Which Pieces Are Involved, and What Taking Them Off Actually Means

Every Ella tub is assembled and tested to order, so the hardware travels with the tub rather than ahead of it. Two pieces already ride loose in the parts box inside the crate: the door handle, which attaches with a single bolt, and the deck-mount grab bar, which ships in its own kit. Neither is installed when the tub leaves the factory, so sending them to a plater on delivery day involves no removal at all and changes nothing about the tub as shipped. The full range of bars, and which models include which, is in What grab bars does Ella offer for its walk-in tubs?; every included bar is supplied in chrome only, which is exactly why a different finish means custom plating.

• Interior grab bars are installed at the factory. Their mounting hole spacing matters when they go back on, so note the pattern before they come off.
• The push-button and intensity dial controls on the deck are plastic, not metal. Ella cannot say whether they can be plated or painted, so that is a question for your plating shop, and a good reason to leave them for last.
• The door handle comes off with one bolt. If your tub has a custom chrome handle, the video on this page shows where its locking nut sits behind the front apron under a protective cap, and how loosening or tightening that nut changes handle tension once the handle is back on.

The point to hold onto is that removal by itself is not what the warranty is concerned with. The modification is the plating, and the risk to the rest of the tub comes from a part that no longer fits or seals the way it did, which is why the reinstallation steps below matter as much as the coverage question.

Where Plating Sits Among the Changes Owners Ask About

Support hears about a handful of changes again and again, and the published terms treat them very differently. The table gathers them in one place so you can see where hardware plating lands.

The pattern is simple. Work that the tub is designed for, done carefully in the factory openings, keeps coverage. Work that changes the tub itself, whether by cutting it, gluing to it, or altering its parts, moves it outside the published terms. Plating sits on the modification side of that line, which is why the team wants to hear from you before it happens rather than after. The reasoning behind the drilling row is explained in Does Drilling Holes for a Faucet or Grab Bars Void the Ella Warranty?, and the resealing, trimming and gluing rows come from Resealing, Trimming and Add-Ons: Which Changes Keep Your Walk-In Tub Warranty Intact.

Refitting Plated Hardware Without Creating a Second Problem

1. Have your contractor remove a single piece first, note how it came off and what fastened it, and send only that one to the plating shop.
2. Confirm the finish adheres and that the part still fits and seals when it is reinstalled before removing anything else.
3. Keep every screw, bolt, gasket and washer labeled by location. The deck-mount kit's two large metal washers are the ones that must not go missing.
4. Refit the deck-mount bar in the factory order: metal washer, then rubber washer, up through the shell from underneath, then another rubber washer, then the escutcheon, threaded loosely into the bar, and finally tightened with the supplied Allen wrench. The metal washer spreads the load across the acrylic.
5. Match the existing hole pattern when interior bars go back on.
6. Reinstall each piece snugly, then check for leaks around every mounting point before the tub goes back into service.

Two cautions carry over from the door. The door and door seal warranty is valid only when door alignment is correct and unchanged, and the door holds its own weight only, so the handle should be refitted without forcing or leaning on the door. If a plated part later fails to seat or leaks, the finish is the plating shop's to answer for, so keep its paperwork alongside your Ella records.

What Stays the Same Whatever You Decide

Free lifetime technical support continues for every Ella tub, and replacement parts stay matched to your serial number, whichever way the coverage question is answered. If your tub ever changes hands or addresses, the warranty ends for that reason alone, plated hardware or not; the steps for that situation are in the Printable Checklist for Moving House With an Ella Walk-In Tub. And if the two-page activation form was never returned, complete it through the warranty activation page on ellasbubbles.com before you do anything else, because activation is what puts coverage in force in the first place.

Watch: Ella's Bubbles: Chrome Door Handle Adjustment with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Can I Remove the Door to Get the Tub Into the Bathroom?
• Can I Remove the Interior Grab Bar, and Is There Anything to Cover the Holes?

Common Questions